CS Games Update!

(Note: The following was sent as an email to everyone still registered for CS Games.)

Hello CS Gamers! I'm sorry about the lapse in communication we had, I've been hoping to get to a bit more secure of a state so I knew better what to say. This is a long email, sorry about the read!

We have had members interested in joining or considering dropping out for too long, and I waited too long to let them. As of now, we have lost members to bring us down to just 12 attendees. This is an issue in that the maximum team size is 10 and the minimum size is 6. We have been told that a team of 6 won't have much fun, and will just be very tired - so it presently looks like our best option is to lose two more people.

I cannot tell anyone to leave the team at the moment, but if it comes down to it, we will have to fall to CIS averages, and simply have the Department tell us the two lowest averaged people on the team. I don't look forward to doing that, so if anyone is willing to miss CS Games, please contact me as soon as possible.

The present team roster is as follows:

Wyatt Carss
Martin Lindsay
Jonathan Mills
Lingam Lakshmanan
Michael Hoyle
Paul Vilchez
Robyn Smith
Nathaniel Ridder
Natalie Girard
Paul Gowman
Frank Martinello
Tony Thompson

We have been granted $500 by the Special Grants and Meetings Committee, and we are presently PDRing CPES, after a delay brought on by postponed SRM meetings. We estimate that we will receive approximately $250 from CPES, but cannot be certain until we hear back from them on Wednesday. If we receive $250 from CPES and travel with 10 people, that will be $75 to every attendee, which should nearly cover the vehicle rental costs.

At present, you should have paid $130 to me if you are interested in going. From Tuesday at 5:00 PM forward, if I haven't heard that you're dropping, your admission will have been paid for, and you will not be able to get your money back. Everyone who is being paid for by the Computer Science Department: This means you will have to pay the Department back! Please, if you intend to drop, tell me as soon as you can, because past Tuesday at 5:00 PM, if you aren't expressly told otherwise, you have been paid for.

Total costs involved in the trip are:

$130 / person for admission.
~$75 / person for vehicle rental.
~$50 / person for gas (a maximum - we'll have to calculate this as we go.)
~30 / person as a room deposit. (You get this back!)

~220 to ~250 in total.

We have $50 per person at 10 people from the Special Grants Committee, and the CIS department will be paying ~$175/person that they have approved, meaning that persons approved by the CIS department will need to pay at most $25 + their $30 room deposit.

Persons not approved (who should have paid me $130 already) will need to pay at most $70 + their $30 deposit.

If we receive a CPES PDR and gas costs us less than $500 for the entire trip, these costs will be lower - likely just the $30 deposit for approved students and $20 + the deposit for non-approved.

I would like everyone to attend (if possible) the SOCIS meeting this Thursday, March 6th, at 5:30 PM, where we will discuss plans for the following morning, Friday the 7th. We will be leaving at roughly 7 AM, and we will probably be leaving from the LOCIS (I will send out an email detailing the exact information tomorrow or Wednesday). We will also discuss rooming arrangements, the team-quiz, and the flashout video at this time, and I'll answer any questions you might still have.

Once again a quick recap:

1) If you are willing to drop, please email me and let me know as soon as you can. We would prefer to lose people in lower years, but it is imperative that we lose at least two people. If it comes down to it, we will have to go by grades.

2) If you drop past Tuesday at 5:00 PM, you will still have to pay for your admission!

3) Total remaining costs per person (not counting $30 deposit) range from $0-$25 for approved students and $20-$70 for non-approved. These costs will not be known concretely until the trip has occurred, so they can be paid the week following CS Games.

4) Please attend the SOCIS meeting on Thursday, March 6th at 5:30 PM, where we will discuss any and all CS Games related business and plans for the following morning.

Thank you! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Just email me and I'll get back to you ASAP.